A few weeks ago, when COVID-19 was barely a blip on my radar, I was preparing to write an article on what God says about rest. I never got it done, because I was too busy and stressful situations arose that pulled my focus away.
Oh, the irony.
I had ideas to write about how hard it is to slow down and really rest in God’s presence. About how even while planning for spring break, everyone is looking for ideas to keep the kids busy, things to do, places to go. I had plans of how many projects I could complete, what I could finish, what would fill our days. I couldn’t even slow down enough to write down the ideas I had about how important rest is.
And now, with a sudden, screeching halt, everyone I know, myself included, will be mostly inside our homes for the foreseeable future. Yes, there will be work to be done remotely for those of us blessed enough to have the option, schooling for our children and the usual work of running a household. But…that’s it. For most of us, we’ve never, ever had this kind of space in our lives. I will admit that at first, the very thought of it was terrifying to me. There are so many unknowns. This is such a huge change. We all feel a little stuck, stir crazy. All of this is unprecedented—for our country, our community, our kids, ourselves. We can’t plan or problem solve our way out of this. We have to wait. Likely, for a long time. With lots and lots of time and space.
We aren’t good at this. Going slow. Staying home. Being un-busy. Having zero places to be, activities to rush to, people to visit. We aren’t used to just being, just resting. I think it doesn’t feel natural, and for me it feels unproductive, or like we are missing out on something. But God clearly wanted us to know that without slowing down and resting we are missing out on the most important thing: drawing closer to Him. It allows us to renew, refresh and face our days with more strength and focus. Jesus had to leave things undone to get away from the crowds, get quiet and pray. If He could stop and pray, so can we. He had important things to do, but knew that he had to rest in the Father in order to continue.
Jesus wants us to slow down, get quiet, bring our burdens, and rest in Him. Yes, quiet time—rest time—should include prayer, meditating on God’s word, reading. But it can also include naps, a quiet cup of coffee, getting lost in a song, or just letting things go and being present in the moment. I think all of these bring peace to our souls and joy to our Father. Even when we don’t feel like we can quiet our minds, Jesus tells us “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls” (Matthew 11:28-29). That’s all we have to do—come to Him.
During a time where people are fearful, there are so many unknowns, life is just super weird and dark and the coming weeks will continue to feel worse, this is more important than ever. We need to be centered around Jesus. We need to be at our best for our families, we need to stay well and serve those we are called to serve. We need to hand these fears and anxieties over and learn to find true rest in Jesus. And we have the time to do it. We have the space and quietness to stop and listen. We have an unprecedented opportunity to create new rhythms, habits and changes we want to make. We can make changes that will stick, even on the other side of this crisis, whatever that looks like and whenever it is.
What can you commit to doing to use this time wisely and intentionally? What ways do you need to learn to rest in Jesus?